Modern industry has much use for methods and devices that are capable of very high precision. There are many examples of this such as the production of masks with high precision and density, the high density placement of electronic circuitry on a semiconducting crystal, the creation of precisely positioned apertures, the creation of small nondestructive openings that permit the insertion of various components into cells, and the development of precisely positioned patterns of molecules of various substrates. Currently, the highest precision obtainable is using electron beam lithographic techniques. In the present invention use is made of light, chemicals or electrons guided or contained in finely drawn pipettes that can be used to produce microchemical alterations with a precision that has generally been reserved for extremely expensive electron beam based techniques that only work in vacuum.